Evergreen

1

Song: The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan

The pines hissed as the biting wind vibrated through the evergreen forest. It wasn't long now, time had ceased to exist. The world had become an impoverished, crops have shrivelled to dust, wildlife slowly died out. There were only survivors now; groups of warriors scavenged to stay alive. The trees had started to fall; even the great redwoods were weakened by the disaster. They stood rotten inside, ticking time bombs, earthquakes waiting to happen. The ground carpeted in ash, their roots buried long ago, it made tracking dangerously simple.

Nevertheless we had to keep moving, I had broken free from one of many detention centres with my younger sister Alex. She didn't last long out here, it was my fault, sometimes the pain was too much.

When it all happened, humans did what humans do best, build concrete walls isolating themselves from the rest. The undead weren't the problem to me; a bullet to the brain was all it took to solve them. It was the living that scared the crap out of me.

Since the virus, the government issued new technological weaponry that would capture and kill any living or corpse, person outside the boundary walls. Hunters I called them, a concoction of rabid dog and pure hell. Once one of those things was on your trail, you had zero percent of survival.

My tangled, dirty blonde hair had turned to matt, twigglet's and pods of dirt lingered in its strands. My hand gun had lost all security as I had ran out of ammunition months ago. I now relied on a bow and arrow set I had scavenged from an abandoned shack not far from the military base, and a small black gutter knife. My hearing had sharpened out here; there was a terrifying silence now. A deathly atmosphere that was completely and utterly silent, you could detect a disturbance half a mile away if you listened closely. The changing winds was your only sound barrier, the whisking tunnels of ash rose every so often creating swirls dancing in the current, there was little beauty in the world now. Fear, gore and death were my daily view.

I had no family anymore; they had been taken by the night walkers, cannibalistic empty shells of lost souls that roamed the earth consuming any life in their way. The people who had lost all hope, dragging their evolved knuckles on the shaken ground, and their non existent consciences abandoned whenever they were bitten.
My sister was lost along with my parents, sometimes I wonder if it would be better to join them, become a zombie just to be reunited.
Although I doubt I would feel any benefit, emotions were a thing of the past.

Location wasn't an issue anymore, neither were personal belongings, even relationships lost meaning. Families slaughtered each other in desperation; lovers sacrificed the other for their selfish needs.
I however have kept my sanity so far; I never clung to one place for long, travelling mainly through the trees and higher points such as mountains and buildings. The nomadic lifestyle was where I thrived.

If I ever had to pass through a settlement which was rare; I had survived mostly on hunting down wildlife.
Only when my traps ran dry, I scavenged scraps of rotten food collected on the outskirts of various towns. There was little selection, you survived that was it. Eat or be eaten.

I had spent the night in red pick up truck which had been verged up an embankment on the edge of the pines. Covering my scent with pine needles I hid under a blue tarpaulin stretched across the empty bed of the pick up.

A distant tap of footsteps could be heard.

***

He knew he couldn't run any further; they had tracked him for at least twenty five miles. With a gash torn down his calf and a knife wound to the thigh, he couldn't run. If he fought he would definitely die. They had taken everything from him, his animosity rose to unthinkable levels.

If he had the chance to seek his revenge on those blood boilers he would do his family just. The wind changed, beating against his exposed torso. Hauling his weight up to a low sycamore branch he scaled the web of wooden arms crossing one another. They concealed his location as the leaves were long gone. He perched in a tangled mess, hiding from death. They were getting closer, he could hear their voices.

"When you get em' don't kill him I like my meat fresh. He's full of good muscle that one." His hoarse tone rattled carried with a sharp gust of wind, each current swept over his wounds, licking his weakest points. There was no hope anymore this is what we have become; humanity turning on one another; even cannibalism was now acceptable.

A branch groaned from a nearby tree, its bows taking on a mystery passenger. This was it Henry I thought to myself. My heart accelerated, thumping against my ribs, this was it I was going to die. A glimmer of black steel briefly shone through the dried branches, masking the threat.
Perspiration dampened my forehead, I pleaded for my life. Putting pressure on my thigh I tried to stop the blood dripping to the ground.

I pleaded but my silent cries weren't good enough. No god could hear my thoughts or answer my prayers, no... not anymore. A low, soft puffing sound came from the offending bow. A flash of silver shot from between the bark skewering two of the men on the ground. A second was released in a matter of seconds taking out a further two; three ran leaving their knapsacks discarded upon the forest floor.
The connection of metal and their skin was quick, sighing; feelings of anger, anguish and agony washed over me. I could feel the life draining from my pores, my eyes became heavy, yet I felt weightless. Whoever my dark saviour was I couldn't thank them, the blood had stopped spurting hours ago, it slowly seeped, I was all dried up. I didn't receive any welcome, no flashbacks of desired memories, no white light or golden gate just darkness, that never ending darkness I was so used to.

***

He was badly injured, I didn't have the medical skills that were so desperately needed. Using a small emergency aid kit in a nearby discarded ambulance, I attempted to clean the poor guy up, nothing short of a miracle could revive him. He was unconscious and by my judgement dead to the world. Lucky fucker.

Refined collarbones and a strong jawline stood out to me; his chestnut hair disarrayed yet his curls sprang out, his weight alone expressed his muscle mass. Unblemished, amber skin shone through the layers of sweat and grime, drawing my scrutiny towards his facial features I realised how handsome he really was. His rose tinted lips called to be kissed.
His charming traits began to leap forward, a small deep scar lay below his Adam's apple, he had thick facial hair, and freckles dusted along his nose. Wherever he had come from he'd spent his life outside.

I dragged his body towards a hollow log; I had done my best to conceal him. Pushing ferns around the entrance, it seems silly to take such care of a dying stranger in this setting, but I guess I want to preserve my nature, even if there is no one to witness it. It's what keeps me sane.